Editing The Chef In The Food Part 1 (section)

==== Introduction of the Individual Cook ====
Until about the end of the last millennium, this was the case with most of the Indian cities, except some parts of the metros. Food had not been commercialized in India to a large extent. There were dhabas at the roadside which made standard fare for the travelers and for the drivers. Eating at these places was considered not a delicacy but a necessary risk that had to be taken to have the required nourishment.

Then there were dharmashalas with all the temples and Gurudwaras across the country. The cooks at these dharmashalas came from a very strict Ayurvedic culture who cooked Sattvik food with all the purity and sanctity demanded of the person who was cooking.

The dharmic sense of responsibility that the cooks at these temples cooked made sure the food at these places was as hygienic and healthy as it is at home. History is not aware of any pandemics breaking out of Hindu temples or Gurudwaras.

Then there were commercial cooks who cooked for big gatherings like marriages and bhandaras etc. Even there, the menu, in any given region, was almost fixed. There were no new dishes! No ‘signature dish’ of the cook. The best cook in any society was just good at cooking the regional and the ethnic food better than his rivals.

This does not mean that there were no regional differences or all the cooks cooked basically the same food. Not at all. Cooks were famous, both commercial and domestic, for having a ‘distinct flavor in their hand’. My grandmother was an especially good cook, who cooked in small batches in shapes and concepts which were all miniature. One could identify her food from the look, the smell, and the flavor. But this flavor was praised more and more for being as true to the ‘original’ as possible. True, there were differences, but what was awarded was gravitation towards the mean, and not the other way round.

And then, somewhere around 2000, fine dine restaurants started spreading in India. For the first time, people ate outside, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. This was a strange concept, a new idea, hitherto unknown to a traditional civilization. Why would someone ‘want’ to eat outside if they didn’t ‘have to’?

This is what brought the fundamental change in cooking. It brought the cook in the food, and the cook became ‘chef’. The individual agency had been introduced in food too.